A sermon by Father Eustáquio, dated 1934, when he was still in Água Suja (present-day Romaria/MG) in the Triângulo Mineiro region, offers a beautiful reflection on the importance of always being in God's presence. The text was found in one of the bulletins of the Sacred Hearts Parish in Belo Horizonte (1945/1946).

In difficult times like the ones we are living through today, this text brings solace to the heart and soul. Below is an excerpt from this homily.

“"In your midst was one whom you do not know.".

If I were to ask you which of all animals has the sharpest eyesight, you would answer that it is the eagle, which can gaze at the sun itself, and the lynx, which from the highest mountains discovers its prey in the deepest valleys and precipices.

They are fine eyes, I admit, but I know better ones. It is said that among men, the gaze of Caesar Augustus was blazing and terrifying, that Tiberius's was so penetrating that he could read and even write in the darkness of night. Such eyes were remarkable, but there are even better ones.

Historians mention that a certain Strabo could see clearly from a distance of five kilometers. This may amaze you, but there is something even better. While Saint Ambrose was in Milan, he was able to see what was happening in another city far away, hidden behind the Alps. In fact, he announced the death of Saint Martin on the very day and at the very hour he breathed his last.

Do you want something even more admirable? Saint Anthony, Saint Philip Neri, Saint Catherine of Siena, and many others saw into the deepest recesses of the heart. We must agree that those eyes were extraordinary, but there are even more penetrating ones.

I know a gaze that nothing can stop; that sees everything through the densest darkness and the greatest distances, and that cannot be avoided. What eyes are these? Sacred Scripture says: “The eyes of the Lord are brighter than the sun; they see all the ways of man and penetrate the depths of the abyss.”.

One can cleverly and with excuses, cast a veil over the eyes of men. That is how Isaac was deceived with the skin of a goat; that is how Laban was able to deceive Jacob, giving him Leah instead of Rachel as a wife; that is how Jacob was able to deceive Amasa with feigned displays of friendship.

Thus, God cannot be deceived; however much man may dissimulate, cover himself, or hide himself, God's eyes penetrate everything, and there is no darkness for Him. Man sees things when they appear, but God sees the very heart. Even if the sinner seeks to escape Him, hiding in the caves of the mountains, in the depths of the darkest forests, or in the lair of wild beasts; even if he calls upon darkness thicker than that of the land of Egypt, God's gaze will follow him everywhere, counting all his steps.

"If I ascend to heaven," says the psalmist, "you are there; if I descend to the depths, you are there. If I take my wings and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall guide me."”

Now, if I ask you, do you believe in this truth? You will answer me: I believe! I congratulate you for this, because if you firmly believe it, if you always think about this divine presence, you will never fall into sin. It is Saint Augustine who affirms this to us: “We need to live according to justice and equity, because everything we do is in the presence of the Judge, who sees everything.”.

Indeed, Christians, suppose a thief, who already reaches out for the object he wants to steal; do you think that if he suddenly sees the judge, he will not immediately abandon his evil intention and flee? Suppose a wife, about to forget her duties, and to whom her husband suddenly appears; do you think she will wait for her husband to witness her dishonor?

Now, if the humble presence of a man is enough to awaken in the heart the remembrance of duty, what then will be the presence of God, judge and avenger? It would be fitting to call upon the testimony of all the saints here. They could all say, with the psalmist: “I kept the Lord always before me.”.

These feelings of divine presence, which they never lost, not even in sleep, were the incentive for their holiness. Do you desire to purify yourselves ever more, to become whiter than snow? So that no stain, in the heart or soul, might offend the "holy eyes" that saw them, it was for this reason, above all, that the Saints rose to such great perfection, which causes the world to marvel.

Conversely, the wicked came to be so because they forgot the divine presence and thus despised the most powerful restraint on passions. The Prophet King assures us of this truth: "He did not remain in the presence of God; therefore his ways are defiled.".

Thus, Our Lady is attributed with great particular holiness, thanks to the continuous presence of God. Jesus, God-man, played and worked around her.”

Text taken from the "Bulletin of the Sacred Hearts Parish". Publications of July 21 and 28, 1946.